This summer, Echo ran a five-part series on a controversial study of a possibly human-driven drop in Lake Huron and Lake Michigan. The $3.6 million, International Joint Commission-funded study started in 2004 and a final report of the results came in Dec., 2009.
The study looked at erosion in the St. Clair River, which runs between Lake Huron and Lake Erie. The researchers found that the “head difference” between the two lakes — that’s a measure of how high the Lake Huron surface is above the Lake Erie surface — has dropped 9 inches since 1963.
Great Lake levels always fluctuate, but the drop in head difference suggests that lakes Michigan and Huron (which are hydrologically one lake) are dropping more quickly than Lake Erie.
The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel has covered the study and it’s fallout heavily. Recently the paper ran a story with a list of complaints over the study as long as reporter Dan Egan’s arm.
Among them:
– The study wasn’t peer-reviewed before the results were released.
– The study team funded another report but buried it for months when the results challenged their own.
– The public hearings are in the wrong cities.